The human nervous system has two major divisions, the voluntary
and the autonomic systems.

The
voluntary system is concerned mainly with movement and sensation.It consists of motor and sensory
nerves, among many others.

The
autonomic system mainly controls functions over which we have less
conscious control.These include
the digestion of food, maintaining the blood pressure and heart rate, and much
more.Its nerves leave the spine
and connect to all the major organs and glands, either inhibiting or
stimulating their activity.This article
is an in-depth look at the autonomic nervous system.

THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS
SYSTEM

The
autonomic system has two branches.These are called the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branches.

The
Sympathetic Branch.This activates the glands and organs that defend
the body against attack.It is called the fight-or-flight
system.Its nerves direct more
blood to the muscles and the brain.The heart rate and blood pressure increase, while it decreases the blood
flow to the digestive and eliminative organs.It also activates the thyroid and adrenal glands to provide
extra energy for fighting or running away.Nervousness, stress or feelings of panic are what one feels
when in a sympathetic state of readiness.

The sympathetic system is catabolic, which means
it tears down the body.Energy is used to prepare for defense, rather than for nourishment or for
elimination of wastes.An
excellent analogy is to imagine placing all of the nation’s resources in its
military defense.While helpful in
an emergency, if continued too long, the nation becomes much poorer for lack of
productive commercial activity. The feeling of an “adrenalin rush” is a product
of the sympathetic system.It may
feel good at first, but is always followed by a feeling of fatigue, as this
system uses up energy and depletes the body.

The
Parasympathetic Branch. This is concerned with
nourishing, healing, elimination and regeneration of the body.It is somewhat more anabolic, or concerned with rebuilding
the body.

Its
nerves stimulate digestion, and the immune and eliminative organs.These organs include the liver,
pancreas, stomach and intestines.The parasympathetic nervous system, when activated by rest, relaxation
and happy thoughts, is essential for balanced living and for all healing.

Moving
yourself into a healthy parasympathetic state, and staying there as much of the
time as possible, helps heal all health conditions, both physical and emotional
ones as well.

The
feeling often associated with the parasympathetic state can be one of lethargy
or fatigue, as you are so relaxed.Do not, however, believe this is unhealthy.Rather, it indicates a state of repair and rebuilding in
progress.

Antagonism of The Sympathetic And
Parasympathetic Branches.Only
one or the other system can be active at a particular time.The sympathetic branch powerfully
inhibits the parasympathetic system.This is, of course, a survival mechanism because the emergency system,
the sympathetic, takes precedence over the relaxation and healing.

Thus,
either one or the other is activated most all of the time. To promote balance and healing,
the goal is to keep the sympathetic system turned off as much as possible.This allows the maximum healing to
occur.Simple ways to do this are
to rest, relax and think happy thoughts.As soon as you think fearful or angry thoughts, or become too physically
active, the body shifts into a sympathetic stance.

The
sympathetic nervous system may be roughly
likened to the gas pedal of a car.The parasympathetic is more like the brake.Unlike a car, however, when the ‘brake’ is applied to the
body, it begins to heal itself.

Emotionally,
the sympathetic branch of the autonomic system is associate with fear.The parasympathetic branch is
associated with feelings of love.Love always drives out fear.

AUTONOMIC STATES

Relatively
few people today have a strong and balanced autonomic system.Most people favor the sympathetic
branch over the parasympathetic branch.Before discussing these types of individuals, let us discuss the ideal
situation.

The Balanced
Individual – A Flexible Oxidizer.When the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are working
as they should, the tendency is to rest often and easily.One can, however, perform at “top
speed” with equal ease. When challenged by stress, the balanced person is able
to respond with vigor and fortitude.

The
parasympathetic system reduces the activity of the brain, the muscles, and the
adrenal and thyroid glands.When
no situation is pressing, the balanced person can comfortably choose to rest
and can go to sleep easily and deeply.Babies often have this ability.However, few adults have this capability today because they overuse
their sympathetic system, which is the emergency alert system that inhibits
rest and sleep.

In
hair analysis terms, the balanced individual will be a flexible oxidizer.This means the person is able and comfortable slowing down at bedtime
and yet also able to run, play and even fight when needed.These activities tend to speed up the
metabolism.Thus the balanced
individual may be somewhat of a slow oxidizer or somewhat fast, but fairly
balanced or neutral.

It is
important to note that just because a hair analysis reveals a fairly balanced
oxidation rate, however, does not mean the person is a flexible oxidizer.In fact, the test may be skewed in many
ways by toxic metals, living habits or other factors that can make it appear
balanced or flexible.

For
example, cadmium will raise up the sodium and to some extent the potassium
levels on the test.So if a person
is a slow oxidizer, but they smoke cigarettes or have some other source of
exposure to cadmium, the test may superficially appear balanced or flexible.

In
fact, this is the reason why some people enjoy cigarettes, so in this sense
only, they are not all bad.However, the point is that many factors can cause the body to compensate
for its imbalances at a superficial or even deeper levels.Thus we never regard a first or even
later hair test as the deepest reality.Later tests will show deeper layers of adaptation and compensation in
all cases.

In fact, there is no limit to how many
layers of compensations and adaptations may be unloaded in a person who desires
the greatest level of health and well-being.

HEALTHY FAST OXIDATION, A
MORE SYMPATHETIC STATE OF BODY CHEMISTRY

Early
in life, all of us are fast oxidizers.This means that our adrenal and thyroid activity is excessive, in
general terms. This also corresponds to an alarm stage of stress in the stress
theory of disease.On
average, that is, very young bodies tend to be in a sympathetic state of body
chemistry most of the time.

Medical
science is well aware that newborns, for example, have a high heart rate, and
even their body temperature tends to be a little higher than older adults.These are symptoms of fast oxidation.

Babies
do well on lots of dietary fat and the high level of calcium found in mother’s
milk.These are other indicators
of fast oxidation.They also are
usually warm and pink and have rather loose bowel movements.These, also, are indicators of fast
oxidation.

On
their hair tissue mineral analyses, in general, they have low levels of calcium
and magnesium and elevated levels of sodium and potassium.This is what we call fast
oxidation.Click here to read more
about The Oxidation Types. It is a critical concept in our healing
work, although it is still quite controversial.Others use blood, urine or other tests to determine the
oxidation rate.However, it is not
usually the same as the hair level determination we use.

Babies
are in a sympathetic state because they are new to the world with a lot to
learn in a very short time.There
are also many hormonal reasons for this condition in babies that are beyond the
scope of this article.

SLOW OXIDATION, A MORE
PARASYMPATHETIC STATE OF BODY CHEMISTRY

The
other common states of body chemistry we call slow oxidation.In theory, these can be of two types,
healthy and unhealthy.

Healthy Slow Oxidation.The healthy state is encountered only
rarely.It occurs only in the
spiritually developed people.They
live most of their lives in the present moment.They are almost always relaxed, do not react to stress, and
live in a state of peace and contentment.

They
must stay very relaxed and inactive, as any activity tends to enhance sympathetic
activity to some degree. Healthy parasympathetic dominance is due to what may
be called spiritual development.This is the discipline to think and live differently.One reduces stress and strain on the
body by resting and nourishing it so that it can rebuild and maintain a super
healthy state.This is so rare it
is hardly worth knowing about, except as a theoretical state.

Unhealthy Parasympathetic States = Most
Slow Oxidizers.This is very
common.It is revealed on up to 90
% of adult hair mineral analyses, for example.It is basically the end stage of sympathetic burnout.People in this condition have exhausted
their sympathetic systems so much, their bodies flip into a default
parasympathetic state we call slow oxidation.

It is
a condition in which the sympathetic organs, the thyroid, adrenals and the
muscles and brain, in fact, are operating more sluggishly.These people are often tired,
apathetic, and tend to get depressed easily.

This
state is far more common in adults than it is in young children.However, it is seen more and more
commonly in children, as they are born far more toxic and depleted today.

This
state corresponds to an exhaustion stage of stress according
tot he stress theory of disease, another important concept to master if one is
to use hair analysis properly.

In
this condition of body chemistry, one cannot fight back as well as in fast
oxidation, so they do not tend to fight at all.They are essentially in a state of give-up at one level,
although few are aware of this.However, it often manifests in behavior patterns such as fearfulness,
depression, apathy and even despair and suicide when in the extreme case.

The
hair analyses of these people have elevated calcium and magnesium levels and
often low sodium and potassium levels, providing the hair is not washed at the
laboratory.Click here to read Hair Analysis Controversy about this
and other important aspect of hair mineral analysis.

This
is, of course, the exact opposite of the fast oxidizer hair analysis.The causes of this unhealthy
parasympathetic states are quite a few.Recall that it is just a late stage of excessive sympathetic
activity.This causes nutritional
depletion, excessive tissue breakdown and eventually general destruction of the
body tissues and organs.

It is
made far worse by lack of rest, improper diet, poor eating habits, worry,
fears, angers and more.Other
causes include victim thinking, electromagnetic pollution, toxic metals and
toxic chemicals in the food, air and water.

OTHER AUTONOMIC
IMBALANCES REVEALED ON HAIR MINERAL ANALYSES

1. Sympathetic
Dominance.Many people todayoveruse their sympathetic nervous
system. They do not spend enough time in a parasympathetic state to fully
rebuild their bodies.Their bodies
eventually become nutritionally depleted and they become quite literally
‘burned out’.Today, even children
are often burned out, in this sense, due to stress, poor diets and nutritional
deficiencies they are born with.

Hair analysis criteria for sympathetic
dominance.As of March 2011,
sympathetic dominance seems to be reliably revealed on a hair mineral analysis
when the hair has not been washed at the laboratory in the following ways:

1. A hair potassium
of 4 mg% or less. If the potassium is 4 mg%, it is a single
indicator.If the potassium is 3
mg%, it is considered a double or more severe indicator.If potassium is about 2 mg%, it is
considered a triple indicator.If
it is 1 mg%, it is considered a quadruple indicator of sympathetic dominance.

Additionally, and
only if the potassium level is 4 mg% or less, the pattern is
more severe if the sodium/potassium ratio greater than about 4.

Additionally, and
only if the potassium is less than 4 mg% and the sodium/potassium ratio is
greater than about 4, the pattern is even more severe if the
calcium/magnesium ratio is greater than about 9.5.

Additionally, the pattern is present
regardless of the potassium reading if: A) three or four of the macrominerals
(calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium) are elevated above their ideal
levels, and B) the sodium/potassium ratio is above about 3.

Causes for sympathetic dominance.Some people take on too much work.Others analyze too much or worry
excessively.Others live in fear,
anger or resentment too much of the time.A person in this condition may also talk, think, eat or work at a rapid
pace, faster than the optimum for that person. They become toxic and
nutritionally depleted, which makes the condition much worse.

Once
they are used to sympathetic dominance, a vicious cycle often occurs.They become so used to being tired that
if, by chance, they get a lot of rest one day, they use up their energy the
next day, instead of continuing to rest.They do not allow their bodies to use the energy they accumulated for
healing and rebuilding.As a
result, they tend to stay depleted and out of balance.

One
may not overt signs of sympathetic dominance.It is not about fatigue, at least not a first.One may just power through any fatigue
by stimulating the adrenals and thyroid to put out more hormones.However, eventually one will become
quite tired and out of sorts.For
much more about this topic, read Sympathetic
Dominance on this website.

2.Parasympathetic
dominance.This is less
common.It may be described as a
mental and emotional tendency to remain relaxed or in a parasympathetic state
most of the time.

More extreme examples might be found in some
advanced meditators, monks and yogis who have been specifically trained to
remain calm and unperturbed no matter what occurs around them.Meditation is a very useful tool to
help this occur, and these people often meditate properly for hours each day to
develop their minds and bodies in this way.

They are very oriented toward a more
regenerative or parasympathetic lifestyle, diet and mentality. They are
rarely ill, generally, and usually live a very long and healthy life.

A more
common parasympathetic dominant person that we encounter is one whose
sympathetic nervous system is in such poor shape that the person has either
learned or must, for physiological reasons, remain in a parasympathetic state
most of the time. These people may be relaxed and fall asleep easily, but
it is not due to excellent health, but rather to a damaged body that just needs
a lot of rest and cannot be aroused as much as some others.

The
cause of their parasympathetic nature might be a combination of physical and
emotional factors.For example,
the presence of a toxic metal, nutrient deficiencies, or perhaps emotional
traumas effectively prevents the sympathetic nervous system from activating
properly. As a result, the person is 'stuck' in a parasympathetic mode of
autonomic functioning. This helps explain some 'couch potatoes' type of
individuals who seem lazy, unambitious, and perhaps uncaring and
unproductive.I believe that many
poor nations where nutrition is very inadequate have many people like this who
are relaxed, but it is because they lack the energy to function in a more
balanced way.This can be due to a
combination of biochemical imbalances, childhood traumas, oppression, and
perhaps even genetics.

Some
people exhibit a combination of all of the above. They are people who
seem more able to remain at peace in the face of stress, and they relax more
easily and may be able to drift off to sleep more easily, for example. At
times this is due to intelligence, a well-developed personality, healthful
lifestyle habits and good self-esteem.In other cases, there may be more underlying physical, mental or
emotional pathology that accounts for their behavior and attitudes.

A properly performed and properly interpreted
hair mineral analysis might help identify the true nature of this situation.Those who are wise and balanced in
their habits and attitudes will often have a more balanced oxidation rate with
good mineral ratios.Those who are
less healthy will often have higher levels of toxic metals, lower levels of
nutrient minerals, and more imbalanced oxidation rates – either fast or
slow, but usually slower.

3.
Four lows pattern. This is a type of
disconnect in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) that is like
spinning the wheels of the car on ice, or gunning the engine while the car is
in neutral gear, meaning the transmission is not engaged, so power is not
properly transmitted to the wheels.It is a very harmful pattern on a hair mineral test.You can read about it at Four Lows Pattern.

4. Three
highs/four highs pattern. This is a combination of slow and faster oxidation that we
call a slow oxidizer under stress.It is a particular type of stress, called in acupuncture terms toxic yang.You can read about it in the article entitled Four Highs Pattern.

These are just some of the most important
autonomic imbalances revealed on a properly performed hair mineral analysis.Learning about the many possible
aberrations that can occur in the autonomic nervous system is a fascinating
research area in which hair mineral testing can help greatly.

WHAT TO DO TO BALANCE YOUR AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

There
ismuch anyone can do to keep the
autonomic system functioning well.

ŠRest often.Nap often, and sleep at least 8-11 hours or more each night.The hours before midnight are by far
the best for sleeping.Avoid
excessive activity of any kind.Even exercise is often overdone.Exercise is a powerful sympathetic stimulant.Avoid getting exhausted by any activity you engage in.Be careful when using exercise to “run
away” from stress, for example.More rest is often what is really required.

ŠEat well.The nervous system must be properly
nourished to function correctly.Animal protein is particularly helpful for the brain and nervous system
as it contains fats and proteins essential for the nerves.These include the omega-3 and omega-6
essential fatty acids.Excellent
foods for the nervous system are eggs, meats, nuts, root vegetables and oily
fish such as sardines and salmon.

Supplemental
nutrients that calm the sympathetic system are calcium, magnesium, kelp,
selenium, manganese and zinc, among many others.Other calming nutrients include GABA, L-taurine and a
product called ICMN from Endomet Laboratories in Phoenix, Arizona that contains
inositol, choline, methionine and niacinamide.Herbs that calm the nervous system are many, including
valerian, passionflower, skullcap and hops.

ŠReduce your stress level as much as possible.Stress is a major activator of the sympathetic
nervous system.It can arise from
within the body due to fatigue, muscle tension, spinal misalignment or
nutritional deficiencies, among other reasons.

Stress
can also come from outside, such as financial, work or family stress.Other types of stress to minimize or
avoid are living in a noisy environment, or in one with contaminated air and
water.

Electromagnetic
stress is also very real, although it cannot be seen.Reduce your use of computers if possible, and do not keep
televisions, computers and other electrical devices on when not in use.Be sure to turn them all off when you
sleep, and keep even clocks and radios away from your head in the location
where you sleep.

Activities
like driving and even exercise are also stress-producing, even if you are not
aware of it at the time.A simple
lifestyle and gentle exercise is a step in the right direction to reduce or
limit your stress.

ŠKeep
your thoughts and your emotions as uplifted and positive as you possibly can,
all of the time.

ŠDo your very best to stay in gratitude.This will help keep
you in a positive, uplifted state.

ŠPractice forgiveness.This places you in a position of power and
compassion.It is much better than
allowing yourself to feel like a victim, which always leads to a
fight-or-flight response.

ŠCultivate
contentment.This is different from feeling you need to be ecstatically happy all the
time.This type of happiness, as
most people know it, is often short-lived.It is often an attempt to overcome feelings of unhappiness.Contentment or joy, in contrast, is a
state in which you are at peace with yourself and the world, even if the world
around you is not to your liking.You can learn to let the world go and choose contentment and joy rather
than attempting always to control the world around you.

ŠDo
not to compare yourself with others.This causes fear,
and often anger and resentment.The world never seems fair from our limited perspectives.There is much that is hidden.If you knew more about others’ lives,
you would be less anxious to trade places with them.

ŠTrain you mind to stay out of negative emotions.These include worry, fear, anger and
guilt.These emotions
turn on the sympathetic system and keep it active. Meditation, affirmations,
counseling and other natural therapies all can help.Also, surround yourself only with uplifting books, tapes and
other forms of media.Pick your
friends and relationships carefully.Work, school and all your activities either contribute to your
contentment or detract from it.

ŠBecome aware
of who and what truly give you energy, versus who and what mainly use up your
energy.This is rather complex.Meditation of the type we recommend can
help a lot to identify these feelings accurately, since one cannot go on
feelings alone.We have an article
on this site on the topic of Vampirism that
elaborates it in more detail.

ŠPractice breathing deeply.This is one way to control the
autonomic system with a voluntary action.Slow, deep breathing by itself turns off the sympathetic system.

CONCLUSION

The
health of the autonomic nervous system is a critical aspect to healing that is
often overlooked.Most people
today have some degree of sympathetic nervous exhaustion.It is, in fact, a major cause of all
disease that should receive much more attention.

On a
brighter note, nervous exhaustion can also cause a person to begin searching
for answers deep inside.This can
lead to changing your lifestyle and eating habits, and developing your inner
potential. As more people become willing to change their thought patterns and
lifestyles, they will experience a state of contentment and bliss that comes
with having a balanced autonomic system.

The Sympathetic and Parasympathetic
Nervous Systems

Sympathetic System

Parasympathetic System

Function

To defend the body against attack

Healing, regeneratio­­­­­­­n
and nourishing the body

Overall Effect

Catabolic (breaks down the body)

Anabolic (builds up the body)

Organs and Glands It Activates

The brain, muscles, the insulin
pancreas, and the thyroid and adrenal glands